February 17, 2011

Virgin's Q4 2010 results published

Leading in next generation digital entertainment
At the end of the year we launched our leading entertainment service powered by TiVo, with its game-changing interface that brings together the best of TV, on demand and the web. This is served by our unparalleled network which ensures a superb viewing experience no matter whether in Standard Definition (SD), HD or 3D. As the service utilizes dedicated spectrum and has its own internal modem - unlike any other existing or prospective internet connected TV service in the UK - the user's viewing choice will not come at the expense of their broadband connection, so households can watch and surf online simultaneously without interruption. This also means that customers are able to watch what they want immediately rather than waiting for time-consuming downloads.
Our existing TV service stands apart from other services that also offer hundreds of traditional SD and HD channels because of the instant access our customers have to an unparalleled library of on demand programming. During the quarter we added FIVE's catch-up service to complete our roster of on demand players from all the UK's terrestrial broadcasters, becoming the first and only platform to provide this.
In the four years since the formation of Virgin Media over a million more families are now regularly enjoying on demand TV, with reach increasing to 64% of our TV customers in Q4. Collectively they watched nearly 900m shows during 2010, an increase of more than 10% over the previous year. Average monthly views in Q4 were 87m, an increase of 17% from the same period in 2009.
We have also added more content to our ground-breaking 3D on demand TV service as it has become available. Customers can enjoy a variety of 3D films, such as 'Despicable Me' and 'The Hole', and 3D documentaries and animations. We continue to work with content creators to source the best programming.
We grew our TV base by 12,100 customers in the quarter to a total of 3.8m. Of these customers, 39%, or 1.48m, are able to experience HD after we added a further 91,900 HD customers in the quarter.